Each week, we’ll look at a handful of players who fantasy managers should consider picking up in deeper fantasy baseball leagues. Many of these players will have the most value in larger leagues where waiver wire options aren’t as plentiful. Still, they could also occasionally be useful additions in other, more standard-sized leagues, depending on your options at each position.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via FantasyPros as of Friday afternoon.
Ryan Yarbrough – 13%
Yarbrough was mentioned in this column earlier in the year as a pitcher who could provide solid pitcher win production, pitching for a New York Yankees team dealing with some rotation injuries at the time.
Whether as a traditional starter, a bulk reliever or a long reliever, Yarbrough stood a good chance of accumulating some pitcher wins regardless of role with a quality lineup supporting him.
So far, he has two in 12 appearances for the American League East club. Of those 12 appearances, only four have been starts. That being said, however, all four starts have come in his last four outings.
Overall, the veteran has pitched to a 3.06 ERA and a 4.32 FIP in 35.1 innings of work this year.
Perhaps most notably, he’s missing more bats.
Prior to this season, Yarbrough had yet to log a strikeout rate north of 21% in a full season or see his strikeout rate rank in anything higher than the 40th percentile.
This year, he’s sporting a 24.8% strikeout rate (one which ranks in the 67th percentile league-wide) while continuing to limit hard contact at an elite rate.
Up next for Yarbrough, assuming the Yankees’ rotation stays as is without any interruptions or changes, is two consecutive starts against the Boston Red Sox split between home and the road.
Boston has the 10th-highest wRC+ in the sport on the season, but in the week or so that Alex Bregman has been on the injured list (in games from May 24 onwards), they have a higher wRC+ than just five other teams.
It’s admittedly a tiny sample size, but Boston is struggling to score runs at the moment.
If you’re looking for a short-term streaming option with the potential to stick on your roster long-term, it’s Ryan Yarbrough, especially if he keeps missing bats like this.
Bailey Falter – 10%
Some of what Bailey Falter is doing on the mound is reasonably unsustainable. He’s pitching to a 3.47 ERA in 11 starts and 59.2 innings of work this season, with just a 16.8% strikeout rate and an 8.8% walk rate.
But he’s also limited batters to just a .334 xwOBAcon when they do make contact, and is sporting a 4.15 FIP on the season. So perhaps his numbers won’t regress too much.
Still, despite the low strikeouts, he’s pitched incredibly well as of late. Falter has logged a 0.52 ERA and a 3.52 FIP in his last five starts spanning 29.1 innings. In three of those outings, from May 9 through May 20, Falter didn’t allow an earned run in 16.2 innings.
As a short-term streaming option, he’s very much worth a look in the right matchups. Assuming the Pirates rotation continues as is without any interruptions, Falter will see his next three starts come at San Diego, at home to the Philadelphia Phillies and at home again against the Miami Marlins.
The Phillies start is probably one to leave Falter on fantasy benches for, but he’s worth a look at pitcher-friendly Petco Park for fantasy managers in leagues with 14 or more teams.
Later on is a fantasy-friendly matchup against a Miami Marlins team that ranks in the bottom third of the league in runs scored, wRC+ and home runs.
Zack Littell – 13%
Littell’s numbers are probably less sustainable than Falter’s at the moment.
Like Falter, he’s sporting a fairly low strikeout rate (16.2%) as well as a higher FIP (5.12).
And while Littell has been excellent at limiting walks – his 3.8% walk rate sits in the 95th percentile league wide – the fact that he’s allowing opposing batters to log a 13.7% barrel rate against him (particularly when paired with the low strikeout rate) certainly isn’t ideal.
Still, Littell has given up three earned runs or fewer in each of his last eight starts, a span in which he has a 2.96 ERA and a 4.98 FIP in 48.2 innings – not to mention four pitcher wins in eight starts.
Like Falter, you’ll probably want to keep him on your fantasy bench for one of his next scheduled three starts. That’d be a Saturday outing against the Houston Astros on the road.
But after that, he’s looking at a pair of decidedly fantasy-friendly matchups as a short-term streaming option, assuming the Rays’ rotation stays as is without any interruptions.
And like Falter, he’ll get the Miami Marlins at home. After that, it’s a meeting with the aforementioned Red Sox club who have struggled mightily to score runs as of late.
Graphic by Carlos Leano.
